Second Sister WIP (Europe)

[Angie]

Hi everyone,

 

My name is Angélique and I’m located in France. My current 501st approved costumes are Reserv Pilot and Gunner.

 

I loved playing Jedi Fallen Order,and I couldn't miss making the Second Sister costume, even though I know it's a long journey. I've already studied the CRL and the costume from A to Z, and I've spent days browsing the Second Sister Build group on Facebook, which is really helpful. I learned a lot from all Approved Second Sister's experiences. I thank all the ladies who answered my questions (big thank to Jenny, not sure if she is on this forum). I wanted to create this post to show the progress of my project and maybe provide useful information for people who want to embark on this costume.

 

The complete costume will only be available in early 2024, and yes, it seems so far away, but I wanted a custom-made and high-quality costume.

 

Costume details:

 

Helmet / pauldron / bracers:  ordered from Cillytek3Dprinting (French propmaker) - delivery:  January-March 2024. This propmaker is really nice and very responsive. I could meet them at a convention to discuss my project and I'm very confident about their work. Hard parts will be custom made. I asked to have some room for a fan and the jaw will be removable. For bracers, there will be a fastening system that will allow them to be easily put on.

 

Neckseal: ordered from The Cave: Creature Workshop (in Colombia), RECEIVED The seller was very responsive and shipped the item on the day of the order because they had it in stock. It seems to be one-size-fits-all.

 

Second option is Parallel Life Studios in France, and their neckseal is actually featured in the CRL photo. The price is similar for both neckseals (160€). I preferred The Cave's neckseal based on videos I've seen of both neckseals and feedback from people who say that The Cave's neckseal is more comfortable + Parallel Life is not very responsive (no response to my messenger since end of April so I just gave up).

 

Jacket + pants + cape: ordered from Francesca at PinkingShearsCostume in Italy. Delivery in February 2024. Francesca is really nice, fast response, she makes videos of her work  on her Insta page and she posted many videos of her Second Sister work in progress so we can see all details on the fabric.

 

With the armor pieces, I would say this is the part that required the most research. I preferred to order from a seamstress in Europe to avoid duty taxes and because she seemed highly qualified (she has already made 6 Second Sister 501st approved costumes, with great feedback from some validated ladies). The production time is long, but everything is custom-made, and she specializes in Star Wars costumes.

 

Gloves: RECEIVED --> I ordered 2 pairs: 1 pair from Crowprops (South America) (but it's free with the boots+gloves combo). 1 pair from Keeptrooping (formerly Imperial Boots): i ordered by email because the gloves are no longer available in the store. Be careful when ordering, as there were only 4 pairs of size L left. The size should fit because they run small, but they won't be making more! It will be safer to have them in case the ones from Crowprops aren't great (according to 1 or 2 people). For some reasons, communication with Keeptrooping is not very easy (take time to respond and I have to send reminders...).

 

Boots: RECEIVED --> ordered from Crowprops. It only took 10 days between order and shipping, that was super fast ! I hesitated a lot with the Keeptrooping boots, which seem to be of better quality, but the ones from Crowprops are custom-made, and the ones from Keeptrooping seem a bit too wide around the calf compared to my morphology. I have very small calf.

 

Rank bars and buckle: ordered from Cillytek3Dprinting at the same time as the hard parts.

 

Belt: I bought the leather part (I will assemble it myself once the buckle is received). There's also Paul from PHProps in the US who makes the belt with the buckle already assembled. The feedback from validated Second Sisters is very positive for this prop maker, but he told me to wait until I have the jacket to order the belt because the size to provide must be precise with the costume worn (no holes or attachment systems). So I'll try to make it myself to have it perfectly sized but I may also order the fully assembled belt later to PhProps.

 

OPTIONAL: Lightsaber: ordered from Ultimate Works (that will be my birthday present in July from my boyfriend)☺️

 

If any Second Sisters see this post, I would be interested in having your feedback on your costume, your story about this build. I will update this post as I receive each item. And if you have any questions, please ask

Edited June 4, 2023 by Angie

[Angie]

A little update as I received some pieces of the costume:

 

CROWPROPS BOOTS: PHOTO 1   PHOTO 2

CROWPROPS AND KEEPTROOPING GLOVES : photo 1   photo 2  photo 3

 

small comparison between Crowprops and Keeptrooping gloves:

Crowprops: comfort ok, leather quality (ok but way less comfortable than KP) but keep in mind that these gloves are offered when you buy the Second Sister boots.

Keeptrooping: size small (size L is exactly my size whereas I usually wear M), the quality of the leather is superior to Crowprops, they are more comfortable. The color difference of the red is not shocking because on the Second Sister reference images the red of the Crowprops gloves seems to be closer to Crowprops's gloves but the KP gloves are much more comfortable and v

isually beautiful. I think the Crowprops gloves will be my backup gloves.

Edited June 4, 2023 by Angie

[Angie]

Almost 1 year ago I was starting to build my Second Sister Costume. I'm super happy with the costume!

Here is the final result, I am really happy with it, it was a real challenge.

A lot of stress while making the soft parts, I wanted it to fit me like a glove. The seamstress did an exceptional job and was always available.

Hard parts are also custom-made, 3D printed. The seller wanted to provide me with quality work and put a lot of effort and time into it too. They are passionate people.

In overall this costume is a real challenge to wear, the helmet offers little space, I bought a 4 cm mini fan but I don't feel much air. I need to see if the Opleprops fans would work. They specialize in fans for helmets.

For the moment I'm waiting for my 501 validation but I'm crossing my fingers! In 2 weeks, first convention with my costume